Water Conflict, Security and Cooperation (E258)

Course Organization

Time & Location:

Tuesday, 16:15 - 18:00, Rigot R3

Lecturer:

Dr. Marwa Daoudy
Office: Rigot 18
Office hours: Wednesdays, 14:15 - 15:45
Telephone: 022 908 59 35
Email: daoudy@hei.unige.ch and daoudy@ceri-sciences-po.org

Assistant:

Rachelle Cloutier
Office: Rigot 26
Office hours: Tuesday, 10:00 - 12:00
Telephone: 022 908 59 41
Email: cloutie3@hei.unige.ch

Course Description

This seminar will examine some of the contemporary and conceptual issues relating to disputes over transboundary water resources, such as hydropolitics, hydro-political complex theory, processes of securitization and de-securitization, hydro-hegemony and patterns of conflict and cooperation. Considering the many international dimensions of water, the discussions will also incorporate policy, economic, environmental and legal perspectives. The course aims to provide students with theoretical tools to analyze specific cases of water conflict in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Requirements

All requirements aim to evaluate students' ability to grasp the key analytical concepts discussed in class and in the readings and to relate them to major empirical developments in water conflict and cooperation.

A) In-class participation and presentation, short written assignment: 50%

Students are expected to attend class regularly, prepare for class appropriately by reading the assigned texts, and participate actively. (10%)

All students are expected to present at least one reading and lead one discussion during the semester. All other students must have done the readings in advance and be prepared for in-class discussions. Presentations will consist of providing concise summaries and critical evaluations in light of other readings or discussions. Each student will submit a short 4-page review of his/her presentation and the related class discussion in the following week. In-class presentations will start from the 4th week onwards. (40%)

B) Final paper: 50%

Students will select a case of a contemporary international water conflict or cooperation. The paper should provide a history of the conflict, a critical assessment of riparian dynamics and the identification of areas of potential conflict or cooperation. This analysis should draw extensively on the theories and empirical evidence covered in the course. Each student will meet with Dr. Daoudy to discuss the paper topic. The student will then prepare a brief outline of the paper of about 250 words, with a paper title, research question, methodology, summary and a brief bibliography. It is due at the beginning of class on December 19. The final paper should be a maximum of 5000 words (not including references) or approximately 15 pages. It is due at the beginning of class on 30 January. Except for cases of medical emergencies (with medical certificates), late papers will carry a penalty of 0.25 per day. Students will be graded on their capacity to apply theories, reflect critically on the information they have read, and use it creatively in order to identify the direct and indirect issues at stake.

Readings

The required readings will be made available in a full package that can be ordered at Imprimerie Minute (information on how to obtain the polycopiés). Two sets will be put on hold at the library for the students. Students are required to do the readings on each topic before coming to class.

Outline

October 24, 2006,
Brief introduction

October 31, 2006,
Water Conflict & Cooperation

Topics: Hydro-politics, quantity, quality, water management practices, sovereignty vs. basin wide management

Readings:

• Falkenmark, M., “Fresh Water: Time for A Modified Approach”, Ambio, vol. XV, no. 4, 1986, pp. 192-200.
• LeMarquand, D., International Rivers : the Politics of Cooperation, Westwater Research Center, Vancouver, 1977, pp. 7-24.
• McCully, P., Silenced Rivers: the Ecology and Politics of Large Dams, Zed Books, London, 1998, pp. 1-28.
• Postel, S., Last Oasis, Facing Water Scarcity, WorldWatch Institute, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1992, pp. 25-37; 48-59.

WATER CONFLICT

November 7, 2006,
Natural Resources Depletion and Resource-Based Conflicts: The Debate

Topics: Conflict over natural resources , environmental security.

Readings:

• Carius, A., Kemper, M., Oberthür S., Sprinz, D., “NATO/CCMS Pilot Study: Environment and Security in an International Context”, Environmental Change and Security Project, The Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington DC, Spring 1997, pp. 55-65.
• Falkenmark, M., “Fresh Waters as a Factor in Strategic Policy and Action”, in Arthur H. Westing (ed.), Global Resources and International Conflict, Environmental Factors in Strategic Policy and Action, Oxford University Press, New York, 1986, pp. 85-113.
• Hardin, G., “The Tragedy of the Commons”, Science, no. 162, 1968, pp. 1243-1248.
• Phillips, D., Daoudy, M., McCaffrey, S., Öjendal, J. & Turton, A.R., Transboundary Water Cooperation as a Tool for Conflict Prevention and Broader Benefit-Sharing, Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs Expert Group on Development Issues (EGDI), 2006, pp. 15-31; 175-177.

November 14, 2006,
Water and Conflict: Securitization Processes

Topics: Water and food security, violent conflict, linking water and security issues.

Readings:

• Buzan, B., Waever, O., and de Wilde, J., Security: A New Framework for Analysis, Lynne Rienner, Boulder, 1998, pp. 21-47; 71-94.
• Chou, S., Bezark, R. & Wilson, A., “Water Scarcity in Rivers Basins as A Security Problem”, Environmental Change and Security Project, Special Report, The Woodrow Wilson Center, no. 3, Spring 1997, Washington DC, pp. 96-105.
• Gleick, P. H., “Water and Conflict: Fresh Water Resources and International Security”, International Security, vol. 18, no. 1, Summer 1993, pp. 79-112.
• Homer-Dixon, T., “Environmental Scarcities and Violent Conflict: Evidence from Cases”, International Security, vol. 19, no.1, Fall 1994, pp. 5-40.

November 21, 2006,
Water and Security: Hydro-Political Security Complexes

Speaker: Dr. Anthony Turton, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), African Water Issues Research Unit (AWIRU), South Africa. (to be confirmed)

Topics: Scarcity and violent conflict, hydro-political complex security complex, water conflict resolution

Readings:

• Ashton, P.J. and Turton, A.R. (in press), “Water and Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: Emerging Concepts and their Implications for Effective Water Resource Management in the Southern African Region”, in Brausch, Grin, Mesjasz, Behera, Chourou, Spring, Liotta & Kameira-Mbote (eds.), Globalization and Environmental Challenges, Springer, 14 p.
• Toset, H.P.W, Gleditsch, N. P., Hegre, H., “Shared Rivers and Interstate Conflict”, Political Geography, vol. 19, 2000, pp. 971-996.
• Turton, A. R., Patrick, M.J. and Julien, F., “Transboundary Water Resources in Southern Africa: Conflict or Cooperation”, Development, vol. 49, no. 3, 2006, pp. 22-31.
• Wolf, A. & Hamner, J., “Trends in Transboundary Water Disputes and Dispute Resolution”, in M.R. Lowi, and B.R. Shaw (eds.), Environment and Security, Discourses and Practices, Macmillan, 2000, pp. 123-148.

November 28, 2006,
Water and Power: Asymmetry, Linkage Strategies

Topics: Upstream/downstream dynamics, structural, bargaining power, issue-linkage

Readings:

• Daoudy, M., “A Framework for Power Asymmetry and Hydro Hegemony: The Process of Negotiation in the Euphrates and Tigris Basins”, in Water Policy, Special Edition on Hydro-Hegemony, forthcoming 2007.
• Frey, F., “The Political Context of Conflict and Cooperation Over International River Basins”, Water International, vol. 18, 1993, pp. 54-68.
• Gyawali, D., “Nepal-India Water Resource Relations”, in William Zartman & Jeffrey Rubin (eds.), Power & Negotiation, University of Michigan Press, 2000, pp. 129-154.
• Haftendorn, H., “Water and International Conflict”, Third World Quarterly, vol. 21, no.1, 2000, pp. 51-68.

December 5, 2006
Hydro-Hegemony

Speaker: Dr. Mark Zeitoun, Water Research Group, King’s College, London.

Topics: Basin hegemons, counter-hegemony strategies

Readings:

• Turton, A., “Hydro-Hegemony in the Context of the Orange River Basin”, Workshop on Hydro-Hegemony, King’s College and School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, 20-21 May 2005.
• Warner, J., “Hydrohegemony as Layered Cake”, Paper presented at Workshop on Hydro-Hegemony, King’s College and School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, 20-21 May 2005.
• Zeitoun, M. and Warner, J., “Hydro-Hegemony, A Framework for Analysis of Transboundary Water Conflict”, Water Policy, vol. 8, no. 5, 2006, pp. 435-460.

PROMOTING WATER COOPERATION

December 12, 2006,
De-Securitization Processes: The Economics of Water

Speaker: Prof. Tony Allan, Water Research Group, King’s College & School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London.

Topics: Pricing, water markets, public-pivate partnership

Readings:

• Allan, A.J., The Middle East Water Question: Hydropolitics and the Global Economy, I.B. Tauris, New York, 2000, pp. 3-40, 111-158.
• Gleddistch, N.P., “Armed Conflict and the Environment: A Critique of the Literature”, Journal of Peace Research, vol. 35, no.3, May 1998, pp. 381-400.
• Phillips, D., Daoudy, M., Mc Caffrey, S., Öjendal, J. & Turton, A.R., Transboundary Water Cooperation as a Tool for Conflict Prevention and Broader Benefit-Sharing, Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs Expert Group on Development Issues (EGDI), 2006, pp. 31-40.
• Sadoff, C.W. and Grey, D., “Beyond the River: the Benefits of Cooperation on International Rivers”, Water Policy, vol. 4, issue 5, 2002, pp. 389-403.

December 19, 2006,
Legal Frameworks and Water Reform
NB: Outline for the paper is due

Topics: International Water Law, IWRM, demand management.

Readings:

• Asmal, K., “Water is a Catalyst for Peace”, International Journal of Water, vol. 1, no. 2, 2001, pp. 200-209.
• Boisson de Chazournes, Laurence, “Water Economics: Trends in Dispute Settlement Procedures and Practice”, in Brown-Weiss, Boisson de Chazournes & Brnasconi-Osterwalder (eds.), Fresh Water and International Economic Law, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005, pp. 333-365
• McCaffrey, S., The Law of International Watercourses: Non-Navigational Uses, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001, pp. 301-322.
• Waterbury, J., “Between Unilateralism and Comprehensive Accords: Modest Steps toward Cooperation in International River Basins”, International Journal of Water Resources Development, vol. 13, no. 3, September 1997, pp. 279-289

*End of Year Break*

WATER CONFLICT & COOPERATION: INTERNATIONAL CASE STUDIES

January 9, 2007,
The Mekong River Basin or Indus Basin

Readings:

• Chenoweth, J.L., Malano, H.M., and Bird, J.F., “Integrated River Basin Management in the Multi-jurisdictional River Basins: The Case of the Mekong River Basin”, Water Resources Development, vol. 17, no.3, 2001, pp. 365-377.
• Fox, C. and Sneddon, C., Flood Pulses, International Watercourse Law, and Common Pool Resources: A Case Study of the Mekong Lowlands, Research Paper 2005/22, EGDI, United Nations University and World Institute for Development Economics Research, 2005.
• Phillips, D., Daoudy, M., McCaffrey, S., Öjendal, J. & Turton, A.R., Transboundary Water Cooperation as a Tool for Conflict Prevention and Broader Benefit-Sharing, Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs Expert Group on Development Issues (EGDI), 2006, pp. 90-121.

January 16, 2007,
Water and Conflict in the Middle East: The Jordan Basin

Readings:

• Feitelson, E., “Implications of Shifts in the Israeli Water Discourse for Israeli-Palestinian Water Negotiations”, Political Geography, vol. 21, issue 3, 2002, pp. 293-318.
• Jagerskög, A., Why States Cooperate Over Water: The Water Negotiations in the Jordan River Basin, 2003, pp. 97-121.
• Lonergan, S., “Forces of Change and the Conflict over Water in the Jordan River Basin”, in Hussein Amery & Aaron T. Wolf (eds.), Water in the Middle East: A Geography of Peace, University of Texas Press, Austin, 2000, pp. 45-62.
• Phillips, D., Daoudy, M., Mc Caffrey, S., Öjendal, J. & Turton, A.R., Transboundary Water Cooperation as a Tool for Conflict Prevention and Broader Benefit-Sharing, Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs Expert Group on Development Issues (EGDI), 2006, pp. 41-63.

January 23, 2007,
Negotiating Water in the Middle East: The Euphrates and Tigris Basins

Readings:

• Daoudy, M., “Syria and Turkey in Water Diplomacy”, in Zereini & Jaeschke, (eds.), Water in the Middle East and North Africa: Resources, Protection and Management, 2004, pp. 319-332.
• Kibaroglu, A. & Ünver, O.I.H., “An Institutional Framework for Facilitating Cooperation in the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin”, International Negotiation, vol. 5, no. 2, 2000, pp. 311-330.
• Scheumann, W., “Conflicts on the Euphrates: An Analysis of Water and Non-Water Issues”, in Scheumann, W. & Schiffler, M., Water in the Middle East: Potential for Conflict and Prospects for Cooperation, Springer, Berlin, 1998, pp. 113-135.

January 30, 2007,
Water, Conflict and Cooperation: Relevant Cases in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
NB: Final paper is due

Readings:

• Gyawali, D., “Pluralist Politics under Monistic Design: Water Accords in South Asia”, in Samaddar & Reifeld (eds.), Peace as Process: Reconciliation and Conflict Resolution in South Asia, Manohar, New Delhi, 2001, pp. 159-188.
• Heyns, P., “Strategic and Technical Considerations in the Assessment of Transboundary Water Management with Reference to Southern Africa”, in Wirkus (ed.), Water Development and Cooperation, Comparative Perspective: Euphrates-Tigris and Southern Africa, Paper 46, Proceedings of Workshop organized by BICC and ZEF Bonn, 2005, pp. 55-81.
• Pazvakavambwa, S., “The Politics of Water Use and Water Access: How National Water Development Plans Affect Regional Cooperation (Focus on Zimbabwe and Southern Africa)”, in Wirkus (ed.), Water Development and Cooperation, Comparative Perspective: Euphrates-Tigris and Southern Africa, Paper 46, Proceedings of Workshop organized by BICC and ZEF Bonn, 2005, pp. 122-134.
• Pitman, G.T.K., “The Role of the World Bank in Enhancing Cooperation and Resolving Conflict on International Watercourses: The Case of the Indus Basin”, in Salman & Boisson de Chazournes (eds.), International Watercourses: Enhancing Cooperation and Managing Conflict, World Bank Technical Paper 414, 1998, pp. 155-165.